Gov. Pat Quinn has appointed a special investigator for the Office of the Inspector General of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

The appointment comes after an investigation revealed that, since 2003, the department's inspector general didn't investigate 53 cases about disabled adults living at home who were allegedly abused or neglected and later died. Quinn has appointed law enforcement veteran Michael McCotter to the position.

The governor's office says McCotter is in charge of reforming the inspector general's investigative operations. Quinn also named Daniel Dyslin as acting inspector general for the department until a permanent replacement is named. Dyslin has served as a senior deputy general counsel in the Department of Human Services.

Former DHS inspector general William Davis resigned earlier this month effective Aug. 1.